A Tangled Web
by RogueFireFairy
Summary: Maria is thrown into a world she would have never imagined existed, one that has aliens walking among her and her family.
1. Sneaky Suspicion

Title: A Tangled Web  
  
Author: Morgan  
  
Rating: R to NC-17  
  
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Roswell, it's characters/actors and everything, but I don't. I own nothing but my plotline and any made-up characters I may bring in later on. I disclaim.  
  
Summary: Maria is thrown into a world she would have never imagined existed, one that has aliens walking among her and her family. As she tries to help out people, family who have lied to her for so long she finds herself bitter and angry, but at the same time, falling in love with someone, something she'd never think possible.  
  
Author's Note: Of course by the summary, you know that there are aliens in this story and that Maria's just learning of them. It won't follow the regular Roswell type storyline, it's AU with the Aliens and that's all that can be explained for now.  
  
*** Chapter One ***  
  
Maria Valenti sat at the kitchen table of her mother's house, wincing everytime she moved her body in the hard chair, trying to hide her pain in fear her mother would go into another frenzy. It had been a week since she'd had her accident, and 2 days since she'd been home, back in her mothers house instead of her own apartment, but she didn't mind.  
  
A week earlier she had been out riding her horse with her oldest brother at her side along with his son, her oldest nephew...her only nephew. They had been having a blast at her father's stables, Alex talking to Shane about the horses and outdoors, herself with her camera and explaining how the scenery made for good shots.  
  
She still didn't understand how the accident had happened, considering her and her brothers, Alex, Sean, and Kyle had grown up on ranches, around horses and animals, the outdoors, on that exact ranch.  
  
She didn't remember much of it anyways, only what Alex had told her, Shane had not spoken of the accident since then and that made Maria even more wary. She rememebered her and Alex fooling around, trying to race through the woods like they had when they'd been kids, but lightening had struck, even though there had been no rain. She remembered Dakota, her horse since she was a teenager, had darted off, scared, she didn't remember after that, only waking up in the hospital, bruised and scraped, hurting, and needing care.  
  
She pulled herself from confusing thoughts when Alex's voice floated from upstairs as he made his way towards the kitchen. He was talking to someone and Maria frown, confused as she stared at the back of a dark blonde head. She gasped when the man turned around to show off her brother, Kyle.  
  
"What are you doing here?!" She cried, wincing when she went to stand, then quickly sat back down, welcoming her twins warm embrace. "Your supposed to be on your honeymoon!" She frowned as she watched her brother back away, frowning at her in return, taking in her battle scars.  
  
"I just couldn't stay away, you know that, not when Alex called and told me what happened. Ava had insisted we come back right away anyways." He muttered, touching her face, frowning more when she flinched away from the contact in pain.  
  
"You brat.." She accused Alex, though she was more than happy to see her brother.  
  
She, Alex, Kyle and Sean were all related in one way or another, but she and Kyle were the only ones who shared the same parents, both their mother and father. Sean, the middle child in the family of four kids, the youngest being twins, was from their father's previous marriage, before them, and Alex...was from their mother's side, she had never married, but she'd had him when she was young.  
  
"I called Sean too, he's on a shoot, but he's flying in with Lonnie as soon as he can." Sean, he had taken after the same passion as her, photography, they had even worked for the same magazine one time, but then he'd met and married Lonnie and his passion had just become passion and he'd settled into acting which he did quite well.  
  
Alex had always been a man of computers and technology and ran his own business, he had his wife and child, Isabel, a model that worked alongside her twin, Lonnie, and then their was shane, her 5 year old nephew who was anxiously awaiting the arrival of his sibling that Isabel was due to have anytime.  
  
Kyle had never wanted to do anything but ride horses and he did, winning rodeo's and in doing so, he'd won the heart of Ava Harding, now turned Valenti. The wedding had been beautiful, Maria had taken the pictures herself.  
  
But along with her inlaws came their family, a weird family that sometimes made her uneasy to be around. Ava had a twin sister, Tess, who just happened to be married to Lonnie and Isabel's brother, Max and whenever the family got together, they would come, along with Tess and Ava's father, Ed Harding, and Lonnie, Isabel, and Max's brother, Michael.  
  
Sometimes she'd get confused who was who with all the twins walking around, sometimes she thought she was living in some bad soap opera, but a big family made everyone happy and that was fine by her.  
  
"Sooo....Ava's here...and you've brought Isabel here.." Maria started naming off, "And when Sean's back, Lonnie will be with him, and that means the whole heard will be here too." She sighed, then groaned as she began to get a headache.  
  
"Don't stress it, sis." Kyle said with a frown, never smiling. Her brothers were so easy to read. Kyle was usually in protective mode with it came to family or her, Alex was always sweet and sensitive to other's wishes unless he thought otherwise, and Sean was a big kid that everyone loved. She could read in their eyes, their words and in their expressions just what was going on in their minds, and at the moment, she knew something was seriously wrong if Kyle looked so worried.  
  
"I don't look that bad do I?" She questioned with a small, nervous chuckle. Whatever had happened in those woods had left her bruised, scratched, scraped and broken. The scraps and bruises on her would fade soon, but then she was left with her fractured ankle that left her on crutches, her three bruised rips that hurt everytime she moved. She had been told that her shoulder had been knocked out of joint and had needed to be put back and that's why it hurt to move that arm, and her right wrist had been broken, leaving her to forget about taking her pictures until she was healed. Along with that she had a nasty cut on her forhead, not shallow like the others and had needed 7 stitches, she had stitches in her leg and on her side too.  
  
"You look like you got hit with a truck." Kyle stated with a frown. "What the hell happened to you?"  
  
'So Alex hadn't told him everything, huh?' She thought before she spoke outloud, "I don't remember, but I was on Dakota when it happened, she's usually so gentle, I don't understand what could have happened. Alex and Shane were there, they know what happened." She watched in more confusion as her brothers exchanged looks and after that, the accident was again not brought up.  
  
She spent the afternoon with her two brothers until dinner, when her mother had announced that the others were there. She had watched in silence as everyone piled into their large kitchen, hugging and chattering with her other brother who she hadn't seen in 4 months. Conversation had gone on around the table as they ate, but she could tell that she had been watched the entire time, everyone sizing her up, waiting for her to do something, say something.  
  
Again, the accident had not been brought up. No one had asked how she felt, if she was alright or what had happened, everyone had looked at her, talked to her like she wasn't a mess of black and blue and red.  
  
But after dinner, with the help of her father as she went to her bedroom, she had felt eyes on her, had heard whispers. Something was going on, and she was going to find out.  
  
TBC... 


	2. The Dreams

~*~ is the start and end of a dream, or flash... etc.  
  
*** Chapter Two ***  
  
~*~  
  
The faces were all blurred together, voices the same, but they seemed to be calling to her. She shrinked back as hands grabbed her and she felt a burst of power run through her. She gasped, then screamed as black eyes stared back at her, almost gloating, smirking....  
  
'I won't stop until your mine and I have them, you understand that Mara?' the voice was booming right next to her ear, but it confused her, not only the words, but the voice, that voice that was sending chills down her spine. Who did this voice want? Who was 'them' and why was she being called Mara?  
  
'Your wrong, I will never be yours, I'm no ones.'When had her voice ever sounded so smokey? So low, so... hoarse, like she'd been screaming for a long time, or as if she just didn't have anymore strength?  
  
'I've branded you, you just haven't realized it yet.' And then there was tugging at her arms again, fingers digging into her arms, leaving more bruises and she could feel herself being pulled towards those dark eyes. She knew what he wanted, but she couldn't give it to him. 'I'm coming for them, there's nothing you can do, Mara.'  
  
~*~  
  
"NOOOOO!!" Maria shot straight up in her bed with a scream, her nightmare having affected her in a way it shouldn't. She gasped in pain, gulping in big amounts of air before she started to cry. She felt so cold, so numb, she didn't understand, she should, but she didn't.  
  
It took her a few minutes to realize that she wasn't alone, that almost everyone was in the room with her, and Alex was shaking her gently. He kept repeating her name, but she didn't hear it, just staring blankly at him, knowing everyone was there, but not really seeing them. She kept seeing the eyes, those black eyes, unnatural black eyes.  
  
"He wanted..me, I'm not his, I'm not branded....he's coming...there's nothing I can do." She muttered, confused with the words coming out of her mouth. "He's got so much power...and black eyes, always black eyes." She whispered, and one hard, quick shake from Alex brought her back.  
  
"Maria, Maria! Come on, talk to me..." Alex glanced behind him, knowing everyone had heard the same words as he had. She may not remember now, not know that she was remembering, but she sure as hell was dreaming it.  
  
"Alex?" Maria asked confused, feeling tears well up in her eyes from the pain that shot through her body, and the memory of her horrible dream that had left her feeling so cold. "What are you doing in here?" She asked quietly.  
  
"You were screaming." Maria looked over to the other side of the bed, frowning when she saw her nephew perched there, worried. "You dreamt about the bad man." Maria nodded slightly, " Didn't seem like a dream, it was real. Scared you." Shane now had the attention of everyone as he climbed up further onto the bed, slowly slipping his arms around Maria. "Won't let him take you Aunt Ria."  
  
Maria closed her eyes, fighting back pain and just wrapping her arms around the boy. She didn't want to think about the dream, not about everything running through her mind. She held on to Shane for as long as she could remember before they had both fallen asleep like that.  
  
******  
  
But she woke up alone, the sun shining brightly into her room, she almost jerked up in surprise to see Sean asleep in a chair next to her bed.  
  
She smiled softly and slowly sat up, wincing at the strain it put on her already sore muscles.  
  
"Hey.. hey, what are you doing getting up, it's only 9 in the morning, go back to bed, you need rest." She turned her head to see Ava standing in the doorway, a frown on her delicate features.  
  
"Ava..." Maria chuckled quietly to herself, Ava and Isabel were really the only two she could handle to be around from the Evans/Harding family, Lonnie became too much over time, though Maria could say she loved her sister-in-law, and Tess was just... cold towards her and it threw her off. Max could never keep his eyes away from certain areas *cough* her chest *cough* and Michael.... his intense stare always made her hot and uncomfortable at the same time, always looking at her as if he knew something she didn't. "I'm fine, really, I just can't sleep anymore, dreams..." She frowned at that, then sighed as the petite blonde haired young woman came to help her up. "Did they take shifts?" She questioned.  
  
"Yes, Alex first since Shane fell asleep with you, then Kyle, and then Sean." Ava infromed her easily.  
  
Maria was actually a little amused by this news. She remembered when she was young, whenever she had a bad dream, Kyle would come in first, since they had connecting rooms, and then the others guys would follow including her father. Shifts would be taken and when she woke, someone was always sitting in the chair next to her bed, the big overstuffed chair that still sat next to her bed. "Over protective brothers, gotta love them."  
  
"Wouldn't know, just me and Tess, but of course, I get to have overprotective brother-in-laws, must be the same." Ava winked, then looked over at Sean for a moment, "Should I wake him, or help you get dressed?"  
  
Maria frowned. She always hated having to rely on anyone, she rarely did anymore, and she resented being here, but she would never say it. She always felt dependent when she was around family. When she was by herself, taking care of herself in LA, she felt different, independent. If she hurt herself or got into trouble, she took care of it, but of course, she made the mistake of getting hurt while vacationing with her family, her mother wouldn't let her leave and no one would ever go up against Amy Valenti.  
  
"Neither. Go find your husband, Ava. Let Sean sleep, god knows he probably needs it, and let me do something for myself. I think I can get dressed without help for once." The last week she had been avoiding looking at herself and Amy had been helping her get dressed, she wanted to do it alone, or atleast try to.  
  
"Alright, just call if you need help, though throw out a warning first, wouldn't want your brothers running in on you half naked." She chuckled, and Maria grinned.  
  
"Wouldn't be the first time, men know no privacy, the pigs."  
  
It took Maria a total of 20 to minutes to move around her room, getting clothes, then moving to her brother and getting undressed, and once she was, she was frozen by her reflection.  
  
"Christ.." She whispered with tears in her eyes. No wonder Kyle had acted to shocked yesterday, she looked terrible, and no wonder she hurt so much. She sighed and began to look away when something caught her attention. Her mouth almost opened in shock as she started at her arms. There were four small bruises on each, a fifth only a few inches off from the four on each arm. Finger bruises. "Like my dream..." She whispered with confusion. Someone had grabbed her, no one she knew would have caused marks like that, no one would handle her so roughly.  
  
She frowned and continued to get dressed, painfully, but hardly noticing the pain because of her thoughts. What had happened that day?  
  
TBC.... 


End file.
